It Could Have Happened In Volume 6
by Redhazard
Summary: A short series of equally short drabbles. Sometimes serious. Sometimes bordering on libel.
1. A Matter of Distance

**Here is goes.**

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**A Matter of Distance**

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Ruby hears Weiss' scream and immediately dashes up the stairs, Crescent Rose in hand and a trail of rose petals behind her. Her mind races through the possibilities, each one more worrying than the last. In all the time she has known Weiss, Ruby has never once heard her scream like that.

Ruby gets to Weiss almost a hundredth of a second after Qrow does. To her shock, not only is Weiss on the floor with a panicked look on her face, but so is Yang. Ruby's silver eyes take in every square inch of the room in an instant, searching for the source of their fear. She tries to find the enemy she must cut down.

There is nothing.

The room is empty. There are no Grimm or wild animals.

There is nothing but two old corpses resting on the bed.

xXx

Even after things have calmed down, Ruby finds she cannot stop thinking. She cannot stop thinking about Ozpin—or should she think of him as Ozma now?—and Salem. She cannot stop thinking about the Relic of Knowledge, which apparently attracts Grimm. She cannot stop thinking about Uncle Qrow, because she has seen that look in his eyes before. Alcohol has never been his friend, but that's a lesson Uncle Qrow has never been able to learn.

Most of all, Ruby cannot stop thinking about Weiss, Yang, and that room.

It is not that important compared to everything else going on. It is nothing serious, and it just might be a little silly. Still, it nags at Ruby because she can't make sense of it. Weiss is strong. Brave. _Fierce_. Yang is, well, she is Yang. Her sister is the definition of tough.

Why were they so shaken by a couple of corpses?

Sure, they smelled terrible. Decomposition does all sorts of nasty things to a human body. Still, they were just corpses! Silly, stupid corpses. It's not like those were the first corpses they have ever seen or something, right?

…

Oh.

Just like that, it clicks. Just like that, everything makes sense again.

Those were the first corpses Weiss and Yang had seen, because… because that sort of thing didn't happen in Beacon.

Oh sure, most of the members of the White Fang they fought during the Breach were likely dead. They all killed that day. Ruby has no illusions about that. It is just that they never got the chance to see the results of their work. The crash and the explosion took care of burying the bodies. Then during the Fall, they had all been too busy fighting to pay attention to anything else.

Ruby didn't see a dead body until after the Fall.

She still remembers that day.

In the weeks after the Fall of Beacon, Grimm activity increased. Sailors were leery about venturing out into the sea, and the prices rose as a result. Travel by air was safer, but also more expensive, and thus, out of their reach. In the end, Team RNJR had to pool all their savings to pay for a tiny cabin in a rundown ship.

Jaune's motion sickness did not make the experience remotely pleasant.

During the trip, they fought aquatic Grimm countless times. It was easy at first, and the captain moved them to a better room as thanks for their repeated heroics. However, with every attack, the passengers grew more worried. No one liked being attacked by Grimm. Under normal circumstances, they would have found it reassuring to have RNJR protecting them, but the Fall of Beacon was still fresh on their minds.

All the passengers could think of was whether it would be their turn to fall next.

As the negativity of the passengers increased, so did the frequency and ferocity of the Grimm attacks. Eventually, the inevitable happened. The Grimm attacked in numbers they could not defeat. No, that wasn't it.

They did defeat the Grimm. They cut them down, shot them, and smashed them.

Just not before they could damage the ship.

Just not before they could hurt the passengers.

The ship sunk about a mile from the coast of Anima. On land, that was a distance they could all have crossed in under a minute. Surrounded by sea water, rocked by harsh waves, and impeded by the broken fragments of the ship?

That was a different story and not one with a happy ending.

They did their best to help all the passengers reach the coast, but the currents were strong that night, and they were so very tired. Their best wasn't enough.

That morning, the coast was littered with corpses. Some had drowned. Some had been killed by the Grimm. Some had even taken their own lives in the panic. The ocean spat them out all the same.

As much as they had wanted to dig graves for the fallen, taking care of the survivors took priority. They were so scared, they might as well have been magnets for Grimm. Luckily, the nearest settlement hadn't been too far away.

Yes, that was the first time Ruby saw a dead body, but it wasn't the last. Oh, it wasn't even close to the last. There had been many more corpses in the journey to Mistral, so many villages in need of help. Sometimes, they arrived in time to save them. Sometimes, the only thing they could do was avenge them.

Sometimes, they arrived too late to do anything at all. They could only find the ruins of what had once been a happy place before the Grimm attacked.

Either way, there were always corpses to bury.

However, Weiss didn't live through all those things. Weiss didn't travel through the Grimm-infested wilds of Anima. She went Atlas. That dead couple were the first copses she saw. The same most likely went for Yang.

Yang and Weiss… they haven't seen the same things she has seen.

That is all there is to it.

It's no big deal. If anything, Ruby should have realized it a long time ago. They all took different paths after the Fall. Ruby might not have given it much thought, but the truth is Team RWBY has not been together for almost a year.

The silver-eyed girl looks on as Weiss and Yang sit in front of the fire. Blake brings a blanket for Weiss who gratefully accepts it. She's still shivering, and Ruby's sure it is not just from the cold.

At that moment, even though they are less than five steps away from her, Ruby can't help but feel her friends are impossibly far away.

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**AN:**

**I really wanted to write this story in present tense, but damn, this story did not want to be in present tense.**

**Anyway, when you think about it, even with Qrow's protection, RJNR must have seen some shit. Seriously, we see them go through like six settlements or so, and only one of those was Grimm-free. The rest was either being attacked or had already been wrecked by Grimm. RWBY mostly likes to keep an optimistic tone, but you know they have seen some shit. The scene with Weiss and Yang finding the corpses made me want to explore that a little. That even though Team RWBY is together again, they've been through different experiences since they separated. **

**Anyway, till next Friday!**


	2. A Matter of Clothes

**Another Friday. Another chapter.**

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**A Matter of Clothes**

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Oscar had left the Cotta-Arc house in a hurry. You'd think it was because Jaune's words had unearthed the fears that he'd been struggling to bury ever since Ozpin first talked to him. It would be natural to panic after once again having it thrown to his face that his existence was merely a temporary one, doomed to be absorbed into a greater whole.

You'd be wrong.

The truth was Oscar had realized how lame his clothes were in comparison to everyone else's. He wasn't like Jaune who could somehow pull off the jeans and hoodie look. No, Oscar had to upgrade fast, or else everyone would realize he was kind of bland.

That was why he was going to buy new clothes and rock that wizard look!

"But do I want bottle green or celadon?" Oscar asked to himself while examining the two identical coats, all while ignoring the irony of dressing up as the one person he didn't want to be. "Hm, tough choice."

Oh well, it wasn't like he was paying for it. He had taken Qrow's wallet for this.

That'd teach that jerk for punching him!

"Out of my way!" yelled Cinder Fall as she entered the store with Neo in tow. "Shopkeep, my friend and I will be traveling to a frozen wasteland, so we need to be dressed as skimpily as possible! Bring out your sluttiest clothes!"

Luckily for Oscar, he was too forgettable to be recognized by Cinder. Thus, he was able to continue shopping in peace.

Adam was also there, shopping for a cool new blindfold to make the reveal of his scar as dramatic as possible, but his screen time had to be sacrificed to show Cinder and Neo doing nothing of importance.

After all, who'd want one of main antagonists of the volume to get any screen time?

That'd be silly.

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**AN:**

**What? You thought I was joking with that summary?**

**I wasn't. **

**I think I'm going to try alternating between serious updates and crack ones. Hopefully I have enough of both to make that work.**

**Till next Friday!**


	3. A Matter of Planning

**So, I completely forgot I had to upload this today, which, I guess, is now yesterday.**

**I'll just tell myself it's still Friday somewhere in the world.**

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**A Matter of Planning**

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"Okay so, it's like this," Jaune said to the people gathered in the living room. He was about to outline his idea to them and was understandably nervous. "I was thinking only one of us needs to sneak into the airfield to steal the ship. That person can then pick us up near the cliffs or somewhere else."

"What about the radar?" As expected, Weiss was the first to object. "Even assuming we can sneak into an Atlas military base and take a ship without anyone noticing, they will still be able to track the ship down by radar, especially if we need to make an extra stop. The military will catch us in moments."

"I was getting to that," Jaune said. He tried to smile confidently, but he was pretty sure he didn't succeed. "Remember how my sister said the radar has been on the fritz lately? I talked with Terra about it the other day before you all got here. It happens often and randomly enough that everyone's sort of gotten used to it by now. If the radar were to go down for any reason, no one would think twice about it."

"And without the radar, they won't be able to track the ship down. By the time they find out the radar has been sabotaged and get it working again, we'd be long gone," Blake finished outlining his plan. Her golden eyes narrowed. "So you want us to steal an Atlesian ship while simultaneously sneaking into the communications tower. Two crimes instead of one."

Jaune tried to grin, but it was weak.

"Basically, yeah."

Silence was his reply. Silence which was broken by Nora.

"I like it," the girl said, and Jaune had to smile at that. Nora was a good friend, much better than he deserved if he had to be honest. Jaune made a mental note to do something nice for her and Ren once they got to Atlas as thanks for putting up with him throughout the past few months.

"I'm not sure about this." Yang crossed her arms. "No offense, Jaune, but there are a lot of steps missing to make this plan sound like something that could work."

Jaune tried to hide a wince. Yang wasn't wrong. At best, this was a half-baked idea, and even that was too generous.

"Then we just need to figure out the rest of the steps together."

It was not Ren or Nora who came to his defense. It was Ruby. Her silver eyes were resolute to the point it was almost hard to meet her gaze. "We _need_ to get the Relic to Atlas. We can't afford not to."

Something about the way she said it unsettled Jaune a little. Maybe Jaune was overthinking things, but the Ruby that had promised to meet him in Argus back in the train felt different from the Ruby that had arrived two days later. She had an odd intensity that hadn't been there before, and Jaune wasn't quite sure if that was for the best. He understood part of it could be attributed to learning of Ozpin's—or was it Ozma's now?—past, but…

No, he was just overthinking things.

"Besides," Jaune said, "It's not like we can stay in Argus. Keeping the Relic here for too long can't possibly be good."

Many frowns appeared around the table as his words made their way to everyone's ears.

"Jaune's right," Ren said. "We saw what happened on the train. The Relic attracted dozens of Grimm."

"We do not know for sure if it was the Relic that attracted those Grimm," Weiss countered. "Grimm activity has increased ever since the Fall of Beacon. The attack could have easily been a consequence of that."

Weiss wasn't wrong, but Jaune had a feeling her objection had more to do with her reluctance to return to Atlas, not that Jaune could blame her considering what Ruby had told him about her family issues.

"Yeah, but we also don't know for sure that it wasn't the Relic that attracted those Grimm," Yang pointed out. "We know the Relic attracts Grimm. We just don't know how strong that attraction is." Yang turned to the youngest person in the room. "We don't know, do we?"

All gazes turned to Oscar, who quickly shook his head. "No. Sorry. He's still not saying anything."

"Figures," Yang said, taking a deep breath. "Point is, we can't be sure that keeping the Relic here won't end up attracting a horde of Grimm. I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather not have that on my conscience. Either we figure out a plan, or we pack up and leave. Jaune's right. Staying in Argus is not an option."

Once again, silence took hold of the room.

"I can do it," Blake spoke up. "Disabling the radar, I mean. If you manage to find a way to steal a ship, I can sneak into the communications tower and disable the radar."

"Are you sure?" Jaune asked. He had been thinking of Ren for that part. No offense to Blake, but he knew more about his teammate's abilities than hers. "It's going to be tricky."

Blake nodded.

"It wouldn't be the first time I snuck past Atlas' security," Blake told him with what could almost be called a smile.

Right. Former terrorist. He had almost forgotten about it.

"Then I guess we just need to figure out how to sneak into the airfield and steal a ship without anyone noticing…" Jaune laughed nervously. "Any ideas?"

"I will take care of it." Jaune looked to Weiss in surprise. While the possibility had occurred to him, he had not expected her to volunteer. "Cordovin already told us she had no problems letting me go to Atlas. As long as I am not with you, she will open the gates for me and send me on my way. Once I am inside the ship, I can easily disable whatever guards she sends with me and take control of it. There is just one problem." Weiss let out a resigned sigh. "I do not know how to pilot a ship."

And that was another problem. Jaune had been hoping Qrow would help them out with that part but… Jaune's gaze momentarily drifted to the huntsman who still reeked of alcohol.

Yeah, that was not going to happen anytime soon.

"I can pilot."

As Maria Calavera spoke for the first time since the planning session began, Jaune felt hope rise in his chest.

"You know how to fly a ship?" Ruby asked. The old lady laughed.

"Of course, I do. Be a huntress long enough, and you'll learn to pilot just about anything. Trust me on that."

Jaune doubted that applied to him. Curse his motion sickness, but who cared about that?

The plan was finally starting to take shape!

"So that's it, right? Jaune asked, struggling to contain his excitement. "Weiss and Maria will go to the base. Cordovin will send them to Atlas, and they'll take command of the ship. Meanwhile, Blake will disable the radar. Weiss and Maria will come to pick us up, and we'll be off to Atlas before Cordovin realizes what happened."

Jaune couldn't believe it. That actually sounded halfway possible.

"Hate to break it to you, but we still have one problem," Yang said. "Cordovin didn't exactly look like she cared much for Maria. I'm not seeing her letting her go with Weiss."

"Oh, she'd rather put me in front of a firing squad. Would if she could," Maria cheerfully added.

Jaune frowned.

Yang was right. There was no way Cordovin would let Maria into the base.

Was that it then? Was the plan over before it could even begin? No. There had to be something he was missing. He couldn't afford to put his sister's family in danger by staying in Argus longer than necessary. He couldn't let Saphron down.

Even though his other sisters would kill him for even thinking about it, Saphron was his favorite. When she moved away from home, he had even tried to hide in her luggage, so she would take him with her.

Wait…

"I think I know how we can take care of that problem," Jaune said. It was so simple it was totally going to work.

For the first time in a long while, Jaune Arc smiled a hopeful smile.

The plan was going to work.

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**AN:**

**I don't think Jaune's idea of stealing a ship was a bad one. I do think the show needed more time to explain the characters' decisions, though. There is more than one reason why every heist movie has a planning sequence.**

**Anyway, till next Friday!**


	4. A Matter of Communication

**Hello, Friday!**

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**A Matter of Communication**

* * *

Two days had passed since the Battle of Haven. All the essential characters had gathered in a room to discuss an urgent and plot-relevant subject.

Their enemies.

"And that's everything we know about Hazel so far," Ren finished, a pointer in his hand and a PowerPoint presentation projected on the wall behind him. "Does anyone have something else to add?"

"You forgot the part about him hitting like a train," Qrow said, rubbing his still sore jaw.

He and Ruby were sitting on the floor. Yang was leaning against one of the walls with her arms crossed, and Weiss was using the only one-seater in the room. That left the big couch for Jaune, Blake, and Nora, though Blake looked like she was starting to regret that choice.

She should have known better than to sit next to a snacking Nora.

The redhead had a large pile of snacks next to her, which she was currently inhaling. By Ren's estimates, they had about ten minutes until Nora finished it all. Of course, that didn't really help Blake, who slowly inched away from Nora to avoid getting her clothes dirty from all the bits and pieces of food spilling from her.

"Noted," Ren said. He clicked a button on his scroll to switch to the next slide. This one showed Cinder who had been drawn rather cartoonishly by Ruby with a forked tongue and fire coming out of her mouth.

"Do we really need to talk about Cinder?" Nora asked. Several bits of food went flying out of her mouth in the process. By now, Blake was halfway on Jaune's lap. Ren approved, but he didn't think Sun would. "Didn't she die or something?"

"Who knows?" Yang laughed nervously. Her fingers toyed with her long blonde hair. "I mean, it's not like we know what went down in the chamber. I sure don't. Raven? Cinder? No idea here."

"Eh, we should go over the basics, at least," Ruby said, holding up her fingers to count. "Fire powers. Glass weapons. Maiden powers. Also, I can apparently beat her with a look. That was a thing that happened."

"You should really look into that," Weiss said.

"Probably. Later, though. Who's next?"

Ren checked his list. "Well, we have already covered Tyrian, Emerald, and Mercury."

"I still say those airballs things he used on me were his Semblance," Yang said, slamming a fist into her open palm.

"We already talked about this, Yang." Weiss sighed. "It could just as easily have been wind Dust. Until we know for sure, we cannot just make assumptions about our enemies."

"I'm so going to say I told you so when the time comes."

She wasn't.

"So, that just leaves Blake's creepy ex then?" Nora asked while munching on some popcorn. Blake, now firmly on Jaune's lap, glared at the girl. As for Jaune, he didn't seem to know what to do, so he stayed silent. A wise move in Ren's opinion.

Let it never be said Jaune Arc didn't have a brain.

"He's not my ex," Blake hissed. "I mean, maybe... It was a complicated relationship."

"Be that as it may," Ren cut in. "What can you tell us about his abilities?"

"Adam is strong," Blake said. "Very strong. He's individually stronger than anyone here except for Ruby's uncle."

"What are his weapons?" Ruby asked. "I know he uses a sword, but what does it turn to? A spear? An axe? A car?"

All completely feasible mecha-shifts.

Blake shook her head. "His sword doesn't turn into anything."

"Boo! Boring!"

"His sheath does become a shotgun. Make sure to watch out for that if you happen to run into him. However, what is most dangerous about Adam is his Semblance."

Everyone leaned in to listen. Adam Taurus had been an infamous name even before the Fall of Beacon. After that, he had been all over the news. It would be a lie to say they weren't curious about his Semblance.

"His Semblance," Blake said, "allows him to absorb energy through the color red."

Blinks followed.

"Red, really?" Ruby asked. "Not his sword?"

"What? No. Why would his Semblance require a specific weapon to work?" Blake asked.

Why would his Semblance require a specific color to work?

"It is the reason why his sword is red," Blake explained. "He also dyes his hair red and makes sure to wear at least some red. Adam can use the energy he absorbs to empower himself or release it all in a single strike. It is simple but dangerously effective. A single moment is all he needs to tip the scales in his favor."

"Wait," Jaune said, raising his hand as if he was in the middle of class. "If he can absorb damage through the color red, why doesn't he just wear red all over?"

Blake's eyes shifted to Jaune as if finally noticing she was sitting on his lap. A moment went by while she judged him carefully and deemed him a suitable seat in the way only cats were capable of.

"He tried dressing in all red once," Blake said, flashing back to the memory in question.

xXx

Adam stared at himself in the mirror. He was wearing red shoes, red pants, a red button-up shirt, red gloves, a red tie, a red coat, and a red hat with a red feather on top.

"So?" he asked, turning around to face Blake and Banesaw, "How does it look?"

"It looks… okay…"

"Yeah, boss… it really… suits you…"

A snort escaped Banesaw's mouth which soon turned into guffaws. Blake followed suit, unable to stop the giggles from leaving her mouth.

"I'm sorry, Adam… It's just... ."

"He looks like a pimp!"

"You guys suck."

xXx

"It didn't work out," Blake finished.

"Thank you, Blake," Ren said. "Now that we know his abilities, we'll be able to discuss ways to handle him should we encounter him."

As opposed to having to learn his abilities in the middle of a fight.

That'd be silly.

"Ruby, do you want the floor?"

"Yes!" The girl cried out, rising from her feet as Ren moved to Nora's side.

"Alright, people!" Ruby said. "Let's talk Silver Eyes!"

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**AN:**

**In case you couldn't tell, this chapter is less than serious.**

**When you think about it, there are a lot of secrets being shared off-screen in RWBY. JNPR find out Blake is a faunus off-screen. Everyone apparently knows about Raven being Yang's mom even though she only told Blake. Then there are Jaune's transcripts. I'm assuming everyone already knows that by now.**

**Now, don't get me wrong. I know why those things happen, but it's still fun thinking about all those off-screen info dumps. It just made sense to me to have a scene where the characters are sharing info about all the people trying to kill them.**

**For those confused about Adam's Semblance, I saw the idea on a forum a long time ago and really liked it. Having to wear a specific color for your powers to work sounds really cool to me. Obviously, that's not how his Semblance works in canon, but I changed it for this. It's probably the only chance I'm going to have to use the idea.**

**Also, yes, technically this would fit Vol 5 better than 6, but I'm okay with that.**


	5. A Matter of Interest

**And here we go!**

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**A Matter of Interest**

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Dawn was merely six hours away.

Blake knew she should be on her bed, making sure she was at her best for tomorrow's crazy plan that just might work. Instead, she found herself at the courtyard of the Cotta-Arc household. The prospect of once again using her skills against the might of Atlas—even if for different reasons than before—was one that left her feeling uncertain.

"There you are."

Blake wouldn't have been surprised if it had been Ruby or Weiss looking for her. However, it was Jaune who took a seat next to her on the bench.

"And here I was thinking you might have gone shopping for clothes too."

Blake couldn't quite hide a smile at that. "You know Oscar didn't just go out to buy clothes."

People didn't go out alone while knowing they could be attacked at any moment. However, people did forget such critical things in the middle of an existential crisis. Oscar might have tried to cover things up by saying he had just gone shopping, but no one was buying it.

They just knew better than to poke that particular hornet's nest. It was probably best to leave that conversation for when they got to Atlas.

"I know," Jaune said, a guilty look on his face. "I feel terrible about it ... even if I kind of want to tease Oscar about it once things wind down. Guess it's the older brother in me."

As expected of a man with seven sisters. A part of Blake envied that. Sometimes, she saw Yang and Ruby and wished she could have grown up with siblings.

She may have once called those in the White Fang her brothers and sisters, but they weren't. Not truly.

"Sooo," Jaune said, drawing out the word. "Any particular reason you're out here? I probably shouldn't talk since I'm up as well, but you should be resting for tomorrow."

Blake could ask him the same question, but he'd probably say his role was nowhere near as critical as hers. Which was true in this case.

"I was…" Blake sighed. She might as well say it, if only because she needed to hear herself say it. "I was waiting for the others to go to sleep."

"What?" Jaune blinked. "Why would you… oh."

"Yeah," Blake said in a moment of awkwardness. "Things have been… not well between Yang and I since…"

Since she had left Yang to wake up alone after she had lost her arm trying to save her?

Since she couldn't exchange two words with Yang without somehow implying Yang was less than before?

"A while. It's been a while," Blake said. Things were awkward, and they had only grown worse after the farm. The Apathy may have caused everyone to say things they hadn't wanted to say, but that didn't mean they had been things they hadn't meant. It was easy to ignore all that when they were focusing on the mission. However, when things stopped, when they didn't have anything else to do...

That was when the silence became uncomfortable.

"I'd rather wait for the others to fall asleep before going into the room."

"Oh." Jaune scratched the side of his head. "Well, I kind of feel like a jerk now."

"What for? You didn't do anything."

It wasn't like Jaune was at fault for Team RWBY having to share a room. If anything, she was thankful the Cotta-Arc house had as much space as it did. Not many homes would have been able to accommodate ten impromptu guests.

"I wasn't talking about that. It's just… When I first suggested the plan, I was thinking of having Ren be the one to disable the radar," Jaune explained, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "When you volunteered, I was relieved that I wouldn't have to put him through that."

"You don't need to feel bad about that," Blake said. Jaune cared more about Ren than he cared about her. It wasn't wrong. It wasn't insulting. It was what it was. Ren was his teammate, and she wasn't. Naturally, the same went for her. Jaune was a friend, but she wasn't as close to him as she was to Team RWBY.

Teammates were important.

Not that someone like her had a right to say that.

"It is the sensible choice," Blake continued, hoping to distract herself. "I have experience dealing with Atlas' security."

Of course, Blake thought, most of that experience came from fighting against SDC security, not the military. Sienna had never gone out of her way to pick fights with the army, but there was no need to let the others know that.

"Will you really be okay?" Jaune asked. He drummed his fingers against the bench. "What I'm trying to say is that if they catch you, it will be worse for you than it would be for any of us."

Because she was a faunus.

He didn't need to say it for her to get the message. If Atlas caught a faunus trying to disable their systems, they would jump to the logical conclusion. They would think they were being attacked by the White Fang and would respond to the threat accordingly. The irony of it did not escape Blake.

If anything, she was surprised Jaune had thought of it.

"They won't know I was there."

"But if they do-"

"If they do, they won't catch me. I am not exactly helpless as I am sure our spars in combat class have shown you." Blake allowed herself a small smile. While Jaune had improved throughout his time at Beacon, his fighting style was a horrible match-up against hers. Blake suspected Goodwitch only made them spar when Team JNPR had done something particularly outlandish as punishment for Jaune.

However, her words did not seem to reassure the blond.

"I am not saying you can't take care of yourself," Jaune said, holding his arms up as if trying to forestall any possible argument. "You're way stronger than me. No argument here."

Blake wouldn't be so sure. Certainly, she was more skilled than Jaune. She had half a decade of fighting experience on him, after all. However, when it came to pure strength, Jaune was superior to her.

"What I'm trying to say is…" Jaune trailed off, trying to gather his thoughts. "If things go wrong and you have to fight the soldiers, you will win. No question about it. But the soldiers could get hurt in the process."

"I'll do my best not to hurt them too badly," Blake said, acknowledging his point.

It wasn't like she hadn't thought about it. The soldiers weren't the bad guys here. They were just people doing their jobs. Hurting them was not something she looked forward to. That sort of thing was exactly what had led her to leave the White Fang.

"You shouldn't."

Blake jerked her head in surprise. Pure blue eyes looked into her own with complete resignation.

"Look, in the best-case scenario, you go in and out without anyone knowing you were there. That's what I hope happens," Jaune said, his hands clasped together. "But if the worst happens, you will be fighting those soldiers. You can't afford to hold back on them. If you do, they could catch you by surprise. You could even end up captured." Jaune held up a hand when Blake opened her mouth. "Again! I'm just talking about the worst-case scenario here."

"We can't have this fail, Blake. If it does, we'll have to leave Argus. We'll have to look for another way to reach Atlas. The longer that takes, the higher the odds of us being attacked again." Jaune sighed and buried his face in his hands. "We can't have that happen, Blake. You only got there at the end, so you don't know how bad Haven really was, but trust me, it was bad."

When Jaune lifted his face, his eyes were haunted. "We could have died before you ever set foot in that room. If Cinder hadn't been so busy toying with us, we would be dead. We didn't win at Haven. The bad guys just managed to find a way to lose. If they manage to corner us like that again, I don't think we'll make it. We'll die. All of us."

He said those words with such doomed certainty, Blake felt like shivering. What was this? Was this really Jaune?

"Are you really asking me to…?"

"If it comes down to it," Jaune replied, unable to meet her gaze. "If it is you or them."

Ren.

Jaune thought Ren would be the one taking this role.

Jaune had planned on having this conversation with Ren.

"What happened on the way to Mistral?" Blake asked, trying to understand when had Jaune gone from being the guy who was okay with wearing a onesie in public to the person in front of her. Had he been like this since Pyrrha died or had he been worn down piece by piece?

Jaune laughed weakly.

"It's a long story. Not that good either. I don't think you'd find it interesting."

There was only one thing Blake Belladonna could say to that.

"Try me."

Jaune blinked.

"Blake?"

"We have more than a few hours till dawn, and I don't think either of us is going to sleep right now."

Ilia.

Adam.

Blake had watched too many people lose themselves to rage and sorrow. Even if people started out with the best of intentions, that path was sure to rot them.

"So try me. Let me decide if it's worth my time or not."

She had already failed too many people. She wasn't about to let Jaune join that number.

"...okay." Jaune took a deep breath and leaned back into the bench. "But if you get bored, just remember you asked for it."

At least, she could do this much for him.

* * *

**AN:**

**There is a line between dark and edgy. That line varies from person to person. I hope I've managed to navigate it well here.**

**While chronologically, this takes place after the statue scene, that doesn't mean Jaune is suddenly over all his issues. One of the most interesting things about the Mistral Arc (to me) is that there is a big difference in how the characters experience things and how the audience perceives them. For the audience, Mistral is basically one big string of loses for the bad guys, Haven being the high point (well, more like the low point).**

**However, think of how it looks like from the perceptive of the characters in the show for a second. RNJR goes from ruined village to ruined village. Then Tyrian comes in and would have killed them if not for Qrow. Then they have to carry Qrow's poisoned ass through the wilderness. Then the Nuck attacks. Then when they think they're safe, Haven happens. For me? Haven's a big snooze-fest. For Jaune? It's the place where Cinder would have killed all his friends if not for her randomly deciding to leave things to Hazel, Mercury, and Emerald. This is all happening while he's still feeling the effects of Pyrrha's death**

**As a consequence, the Jaune here is very aware of his friends' mortality, and his mind is going to places he doesn't necessarily like when it comes to what he is willing to consider to keep them safe. Blake has seen how this type of thing goes, and she is not about to let it happen again.**

**In case you can't tell yet, I really wish Jaune and Blake could interact in the show. I don't say it in a shipping sense. Their arcs just have very interesting overlaps I wish the show could explore. **

**As an aside, as I was writing this, it occurred to me this could be a good first chapter for a fic that tells RNJR's story as they travel from Vale to Mistral. Jaune narrating to Blake, and occasionally cutting to the present for her to give commentary. Just a thought. **

**Anyway, next chapter should be the last one. This was the last serious chapter. Next chapter will be a few short omakes. **

**Till then! **


	6. A Matter of Leftovers

**Well, look who is suddenly in the last chapter.**

* * *

**A Matter of Leftovers**

* * *

**Omake: He's a Ninja**

* * *

"Now, we just need to decide who to send to disable the radar," Jaune said, frowning in thought.

"You should let Blake do that," said someone who was totally not Adam hiding outside the house.

"Great idea!" Jaune looked around. "Huh? Who just said that? Eh, nevermind."

It was probably nothing important.

"Think you're up for it, Blake?"

"I don't see any way it could go wrong."

* * *

**Omake: Confrontation is the first step towards defeat!**

* * *

"Alright, Blake will be the one to disable the radar, but I think it will be best if we send someone with her. Just in case."

Yang opened her mouth.

"It obviously has to be Ren, right?"

"Well, obviously."

"Duh."

"Naturally."

"Wait!" Yang said, standing up. "Why Ren and not me?"

"Come on, Yang," Ruby said. "He's like a ninja and stuff. Perfect for a stealth mission."

Ren nodded. He totally was.

"I can be stealthy too!" Yang said.

Everyone laughed.

"Good one, Yang." Ruby rubbed a tear from her eye. "Besides, you and Blake have been all tense since we left the farm. I'm not about to put you two in the same mission. That's just asking for trouble."

"You don't know that! We could suddenly start acting like friends again. Come on, Blake. Back me up here… Blake?"

"Yeah," Jaune rubbed the back of his head. "She kind of already left."

Yang stared at the empty spot Blake had previously occupied.

Had Blake just... ran away from this conversation?

The roar that followed was not stealthy at all.

* * *

**Omake: The Aerodynamics of Alcoholism**

* * *

"Look, I don't want to rain on your parade but…"

"What, Uncle Qrow? Are you going to tell us it's pointless and that we shouldn't try?"

Qrow studiously avoided Ruby's gaze. Not because he was intimidated by her. Not at all.

Badass Huntsmen weren't intimidated by their nieces.

It was just that Ruby was starting to master Summer's angry look, and while Ruby didn't intimidate him, the memory of an angry Summer Rose did. There were very few people who hadn't been scared of an angry Summer Rose, and Qrow was not among them.

"I wasn't going to say anything like that," Qrow said, raising his hands. "Don't worry. That speech just now totally cured my alcoholism."

"I don't think alcoholism works like that, Uncle Qrow."

"Ruby, please, I'm an alcoholic. I think I know a thing or two about alcoholism. Now, what I was going to say is that there is no way Atlas is incompetent enough to somehow miss an old lady hiding in a suitcase."

Several soldiers suddenly sneezed.

"It'd be better if I go with Ice Queen over here. No one's going to mind a pet bird, and I know how to pilot too."

He had also stolen his fair share of ships, but there was no need to let them know that.

"...that kind of does sound like a better plan."

"While we're at it, there's really no need to pick you kids up. The two of us can just take the Relic to Ironwood."

The trip from Argus to Atlas wouldn't even take four hours.

"But then what about us?"

"Once I get to Atlas, I'll talk to Ironwood and get him to let you in. You wouldn't be separated for more than a day."

"B-but…"

"No, it will totally work," Qrow assured her. "Man, that speech of yours sure came in at just the right time to fix me up. Can you believe you were about to take so many needlessly stupid risks just because you didn't have a grown-up taking care of things?"

"Darn it, Uncle Qrow! Stop ruining RWBY!"

* * *

**AN:**

**Bit of a confession, I wrote most of this story between January and February. It has taken me this long to getting around to posting it. I'm lazy like that sometimes. **

**Anyway, like I said in the previous chapter, this is a less serious entry. To be honest, I wasn't sure whether to end things last chapter or not, but here you have it. **

**Thank you for reading this fic all the way through! If you enjoyed it even a little, then I'm happy. **


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